Israel in Soviet and Russian Media 1948–2017

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Dmitry P. Gavra

Doctor of Sociology, Professor, Head of the Chair of Public Relations in Business, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia

e-mail: d.gavra@spbu.ru
Elena V. Bykova

Doctor of Philology, Associate Professor at the Chair of Public Relations in Business, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia

e-mail: e.bykova@spbu.ru
Anna S. Smolyarova

PhD in Political Science, Associate Professor at the Chair of International Journalism, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

e-mail: a.smolyarova@spbu.ru

Section: Periodical Press

The article examines the dynamics of print media coverage of the state of Israel starting with the Soviet period (from 1948, when the state of Israel was established, to 1991), through the period of new Russian statehood formation (1992–1999) to recent times (from 2000 to date). The media positioning of Israel in the USSR and Russia is indicative of the attitude of Soviet/Russian elites to Israeli policies in the Middle East and worldwide. The authors of the article show that in 70 years the image of Israel in the Soviet and Russian press has undergone considerable change as a result of a gradual shift from hostility to mutual understanding and cooperation. A fundamentally important discovery is that irrespective of the political regime in the USSR or Russia the domestic media have never questioned the legitimacy of Israel as an independent state.

Keywords: Israeli image, Soviet press, Russian press, Soviet-Israeli relations, content analysis, discourse analysis, legitimation of Israel
DOI: 10.30547/vestnik.journ.2.2018.325

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